Lylee Hess, of Gonzales, and Allison Waguespack, of Geismar, are finalists in the statewide New Orleans Opera Youth Competition, to be held Saturday at Loyola University. Admission is free and open to the public.

The competition was open to all Louisiana high school students in their sophomore, junior or senior year. Competitors were required to prepare three selections from classical vocal literature with at least one in a foreign language.

Hess and Waguespack also placed in the Louisiana Music Educators Association’s District Honor Choir and the American Choral Directors Association’s All State Choir.

Hess, 17, is a senior at St. Amant High School. Waguespack, 16, is a junior at St. Michael the Archangel High School in Baton Rouge. Both are students of private voice instructor Melanie Hirschfeld, of Geismar.